Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-07-14

| "Great Heaven!" said the Captain.
"You don't mean that he is a pirate?'
Il mean that he has been one
whether he is now or not
''And you left him at the wheel?"
"Only long enough to come and tel
| You what l had discovered"
Captain Willis snatched his revolver
from the table.
"Come up at once" he said. Bring
another pair of handouts with you.
Take the wheel yourself.
The Captain gained the deck, and
strobe directly to the wheel. His pis
toll instantly covered the giant who
held it.
What's your course?" he de-
manded.
East by south"
The Captain glanced toward the
coast. In the last ten minutes the
bark had been approaching it, though
it was still five or six miles away. Pur-
Wis should have seen the change, but
the faithful sailor had flung himself ex-
hausted on the deck.
The mate came up, saw the change
in position at a glance, and with a loud
cry was about to snatch the wheel
from the mulatto's hands.
"Wait, Hardy" the Captain said.
almost touching the woolly head with
the muzzle of his pistol. s. You black
scoundrel, you are well known to us,
and l should serve you right by put
ting q bullet straight through you.
Why should 1 not?"
The man answered only by q stolid
look of hate. His grasp on the wheel
relaxed, and the vessel fell off a point.
keep her east by northeast, or
you're dead man" roared the Cap
tain. you're an Isle of Pines pirate,
and you've shipped ON this bark to
plumber it. Purvis-here, take the
helm again. Mr.. Hardy, put on the
irons"
The mulatto sullenly gave up the
helm, and yielded his wrists to the
shackles. The mate marched him
forward before the muzzle of his pistol,
and down the ladder into the forehold.
All the crew saw it, and there were
some black looks; but no man dared
to lift up his voice.
In a few moments the mate returned
with the intelligence that he had con-
fined the mulatto below, and had put
on him heavy leg-irons.
Captain Willis walked the deck for
half an hour with the mate, advising
as to what should be done in the grave
situation in which the ship was placed.
Every hour seemed to develop new
and more imminent perils; and what
was yet to come, no man could foresee.
1t was finally agreed that both Cap
tain and mate should pass the night on
deck, and that one or the other must
be constantly awake to superintend the
watch and the man at the wheel.
"Tll 90 below again, and make some
preparations, said the Captain; and
he proceeded to do so.
Could he have known what had
transpired in his cabin in his absence,
something like despair might well have
seized him.
In the conversations between the Cap
tain and his nephew ashore, reference
had been made to their occupying the
cabin of the bark together.
This was true, but not strictly cor
rect. Both had taken their meals in
the cabin, and sat there; but the Cap
tain had berth there, while Louis
slept in a little cuddy off from it.
In his casual search for his nephew,
upon coming down after the shooting
of the negro, the Captain had opened
the door and glanced into this cuddy.
1t was dark; nobody appeared to be
there.
He had called Louis by name; but no
one answered.
soliloquized What can he be do
ing forward?'
But he was not forward, nor any
where on deck. He was concealed be-
hind curtain that covered the side OF
the place.
The door was left ajar; and little
later the concealed watcher saw the
Captain bring the canvas sacks of gold
to the cabin table. He heard the ring
of the metal as the bags were put
upon it.
He heard every word that was spoken
between the Captain and the mate.
When he heard their feet ascending the
cabin stairs, he thrust aside the cur
tain and came out into the cabin.
Now was the man revealed! In the
seclusion of those few moments, he ex-
ulted with glee like that of a demon.
He clapped his hands; he laughed; he